It's been six weeks since a fire tore through the small town of Buchan in East Gippsland and despite promises of relief payments from all levels of government some farmers remain "homeless and unemployed".

Bushfire-affected communities in the far east of Victoria are hopeful that drenching rainfall moving down from NSW will finally put an end to several massive blazes that have been burning for over a month.

Residents from the town of Cann River in East Gippsland have finally been able to leave town more than a week after facing horrific bushfires on New Year's Eve, with stories of facing down a "big wall of flames".

Firefighters, police and the army make extraordinary efforts to bring relief to thousands of Victorians cut off by bushfires, as they brace for extreme weekend weather which could see huge bushfires merge in the state's east and north-east.